Clifton Pondexter (born September 15, 1954) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'9"

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

from

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, Pondexter starred at San Joaquin Memorial High School with his brother Roscoe. At the conclusion of his college career at California State University, Long Beach, Pondexter was selected by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

with the sixteenth pick of the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

and by the

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

in the first round of the

1974 ABA Draft The American Basketball Association draft was held from 1967 to 1975. First overall picks Note: 1974 ABA College Draft, not 1974 ABA Draft of NBA Players Further reading *{{cite book, last=Bradley, first=Robert D., title=The Basketball Draft Fac ...

.Career statistics
basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2010. Pondexter's NBA career was delayed by a

stress fracture A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running or ...

in his leg he suffered in the summer of 1974; he did not make his professional debut until a fall 1975 exhibition game against the Kentucky Colonels. Between 1975 and 1978, Pondexter played 197 games for the Bulls. His best season was 1975-76, when he averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He never fully bounced back from his injury, however, and was waived by the Bulls in the summer of 1978. He then took his career to Europe. Pondexter's nephew,

Quincy Pondexter Quincy Coe Pondexter (born March 10, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He is currently an assistant coach for the University of Washington men's basketball team. He played high school basketball in Fresno, California, a ...

, was selected by the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in the first round of the

2010 NBA Draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

.Bret Martel.
Brackins, Pondexter joining Hornets summer squad
. AP. ''USA Today''. July 8, 2010. Retrieved on July 24, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pondexter, Cliff 1954 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from California Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Chicago Bulls players Long Beach State Beach men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards (basketball) San Diego Conquistadors draft picks Sportspeople from Fresno, California Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople